Albert Gustave Bedane (1893–1980) lived in Jersey during the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

during World War II, and provided shelter to a Jewish woman and others, preventing their capture by the Nazis. He was born in Angers in France in 1893 and lived in Jersey from 1894. He served in the British Army 1917-1920 and was naturalised as a British subject by the Royal Court of Jersey in 1921. By profession he was a

masseur Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

/ physiotherapist. In 1966 the Soviet government presented Albert Bedane (along with other Jersey resistance activists who had helped and sheltered escaped Soviet slave-workers) with a gold watch. On 4 January 2000, Albert Bedane was recognised as '' Righteous Among the Nations''. A plaque erected by the Vingtaine de la Ville marks the site of his home in Roseville Street, Saint Helier, where he sheltered escapees. In 2004

BBC South West BBC South West is the BBC English Region serving Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, West Somerset, West Dorset and Channel Islands. Services Television ''BBC South Wests television service (broadcast on BBC One South West) consists of the flagshi ...

launched an audience vote for ''South West Heroes''. The four nominations from Jersey, which falls within the BBC's South West broadcasting region, were Gerald Durrell, Sir

Walter Ralegh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

, Sir

Billy Butlin Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin (29 September 189912 June 1980) was a South African-born British entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.''#refRiverside, American Heritage Dictionary 2004'', p. 135.#refSc ...

and Albert Bedane.BBC – Jersey – Features – Vote Bedane
/ref> In 2010, Bedane was posthumously named a

British Hero of the Holocaust The British Hero of the Holocaust award is a special national award given by the government of the United Kingdom in recognition of British citizens who assisted in rescuing victims of the Holocaust. On 9 March 2010, it was awarded to 25 individ ...

by the British Government.

Notes

External links

BBC articleOccupation Memorial
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the Holocaust, at Yad Vashem website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedane, Albert 1893 births 1980 deaths People from Saint Helier French Righteous Among the Nations British Righteous Among the Nations Honours recipients from Jersey People from Angers British physiotherapists British Army personnel of World War I